CHAPTER 77: CHAPTER 77: DON’T BE AFRAID

Jiang Xingye gripped the hoe tightly, the veins on his arms bulging. A voice inside him wanted to say "I like you too," but reason told him he wasn’t qualified to say such things.

Self-doubt surged over him like a tide, extinguishing his fiery impulse.

He seemed to see himself: a rough guy from the village, a murderer at twelve, an idler, a hot-tempered village bully—there hadn’t been a good word spoken about him over the years.

And she was so wonderful!

Just standing here, she seemed like a celestial maiden, perfect as if she didn’t belong to this world.

Jiang Xingye was overwhelmed with frustration, "I won’t do this again. I’ve eaten your rice, and doing these things for you is repaying this favor."

Saying this, he dragged the hoe and started walking toward the ridge.

He didn’t dare look back at Xu Qinghuan.

Xu Qinghuan watched his retreating figure; the plot had reversed too quickly, leaving her confused about how things ended up this way.

Did she misunderstand?

This was too embarrassing!

Xu Qinghuan kicked the nearest sorghum stalk in frustration and ended up breaking it, which frightened her.

These days, food was more valuable than life!

If the brigade found out she had destroyed crops, she would definitely be taken out and criticized.

Xu Qinghuan quickly retrieved a handful of Spiritual Spring from the space and sprinkled it at the base of the sorghum. The sorghum trembled, but the stalk was broken and couldn’t be straightened quickly.

Xu Qinghuan hurried out of the field and ran toward the mountain.

She needed to find a stick to support the broken sorghum stalk, but the ridges nearby had been harvested clean, and the nearest trees were up the mountain.

Jiang Xingye walked dejectedly back; after a few steps, he heard noise behind him. Turning around, he saw Xu Qinghuan speeding toward the mountain, looking anxious.

Seeing her heading up the mountain, Jiang Xingye was scared out of his wits. He threw the hoe to the ground and rushed towards Xu Qinghuan like the wind.

Xu Qinghuan heard the wind whistling behind her but hadn’t turned back before someone grabbed her. The force was so strong she crashed into a wall of flesh, leaving her bewildered.

"What are you doing?" Xu Qinghuan was truly angry, mainly because it hurt too much, she was practically concussed.

She rubbed her head and leaned against Jiang Xingye, unable to stand steadily.

This man was truly exceptional.

Even after working hard all day, sweaty all over, the scent of pine on him was still pleasant to smell. Xu Qinghuan had never been this close to a man in two lifetimes, mainly because getting close made her nauseous.

But Jiang Xingye was different; she had been in close contact with him several times and felt no aversion.

A large hand comfortingly stroked her head, ruffling her fluffy hair. Xu Qinghuan let go and shot him a sideways glance, "You want me dead?"

Such force in pulling her—did he own this mountain?

At that moment, she heard rustling noises coming from the grass under her feet; something was moving under the dead grass. Xu Qinghuan thought it was a snake and screamed, jumping back and clinging to Jiang Xingye, her feet off the ground.

Jiang Xingye nudged the dead grass with his foot, and Xu Qinghuan saw it was a half-grown wild boar, its hind leg pierced by a sharpened wooden stick, blood flowing as it struggled.

And she finally saw that this was a trap.

If Jiang Xingye had been a bit slower, she might have stepped in it and ended worse than the boar.

Xu Qinghuan shuddered at the thought, feeling all strength leave her.

Jiang Xingye hugged her by the waist and lowered her from his back, helping her stand when her legs went weak, gently comforting her, "Don’t be afraid!"

How could she not be afraid!

Although she wouldn’t die, being hurt so badly would be an unbearable experience!

"Does it still hurt?" Jiang Xingye gently rubbed her head again.

Xu Qinghuan glanced at him, not missing the fleeting concern and the tender emotion in his eyes. It was the first time she saw him with such gentle brows, hard to imagine this cold, ruthless man having this side.

Xu Qinghuan had mismatched her feelings once; she didn’t dare overthink now.

"It’s okay!"

She shook her head and pointed at the wild boar, "Who set this trap?"

Jiang Xingye paused in silence, then replied helplessly, "It was me!"

Great!

The rescue canceled out the favor.

Actually, she couldn’t help but be somewhat angry with him now, "Why on earth would you set traps here at the foot of the mountain? Don’t you know it’s dangerous? How could someone like me know that there are traps on a seemingly normal flat ground?

What if someone falls in?"

"No one will!" Jiang Xingye smiled, stepping back to maintain some distance.

She seemed to have her strength back if she could get angry!

"What are you saying?" Xu Qinghuan didn’t understand, squinting coldly at him.

"The brigade asked me to set traps. Everyone in the village knows." Jiang Xingye pointed to the mountain range, "Wild boars often come down here. Without traps, the crops here wouldn’t yield a harvest."

"Ah!"

Xu Qinghuan was at a loss for words; clearly, this was bullying her for being new.

She drew a thumb-thick stick over a meter long from the trap and turned to leave.

Jiang Xingye quickly covered the wild boar with dry grass and followed her silently.

When they reached the edge of the field, Xu Qinghuan saw the sorghum stalk had straightened itself. She was stunned, turned to Jiang Xingye, and said, "Don’t come over!"

Jiang Xingye obediently stood on the ridge, watching her position the stick beside the sorghum and pull a rope from her pocket to bind it.

Having done all this, Xu Qinghuan clapped her hands and walked over again, "Even though you saved my life again today, I won’t thank you. If you hadn’t set that trap, I wouldn’t have had a scare."

"Hmm." Jiang Xingye stood higher, looking down he could only see the top of her head, even her hair whorl looked so nice. His eyes unintentionally filled with affection, his brows relaxed, and a rare deep fondness graced his face.

Liking someone isn’t something you can hide!

"I know!" fearing Xu Qinghuan might overthink, he added.

"Then go, I need to work!"

Xu Qinghuan was not nice to him, but Jiang Xingye didn’t mind; his voice low and enticingly magnetic, "I’ll get the wild boar out; the brigade will distribute meat today. Make sure to come early after work."

The wild boar was about two hundred and forty pounds, and after butchering, there’d be about one hundred eighty pounds of meat—enough to distribute. Generally, whichever team brings back mountain goods distributes it among themselves.

Their team comprised over thirty households, with more than a hundred forty people, meaning each person would get a bit more than a pound of meat.

The wild boar meat wasn’t very tasty since it hadn’t been castrated, but Xu Qinghuan wanted to witness the rare meat distribution, so she agreed and turned to start working again.